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Dodson makes USA Paralympic Team

Former Deming Marine to compete in cross country, biathlon

By Bill Armendariz

barmendariz @demingheadlight.com @demingheadlight on Twitter

Posted:
01/16/2014 04:08:41 PM MST

Courtesy Photo
Travis Dodson, 28, will compete for Team USA in the 2014 Paralympics Winter Games in Sochi — a southern Russia city — March 7-16. He is expected to compete in cross-country sit ski and/or the biathlon.

Former U.S. Marine Machine Gunner Travis Dodson considers himself well suited for shooting competition. His athleticism and sharp-shooting skills will carry him to the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games March 7-16 in Sochi, Russia. Dodson could compete in several events, but is sure his two telling events will be cross-country sit skiing and the biathlon. The biathlon is a combination of cross country skiing and target shooting.

"You take a lap and come to the station where you shoot at targets," Dodson said. "Then you take another lap and meet up at another station for more targets."

Dodson, 28, is a 2004 graduate of Deming of High School where he was involved in athletics throughout his Wildcat career.

Dodson

He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps where he became a corporal and served his country in Iraq in 2006.

While on patrol in a small province of Iraq, Dodson was wounded when a grenade exploded next to him. Dodson's injuries were severe. He lost both legs at the hip and was also scarred in his arms, chest and one eye.

"I'm super excited about this opportunity to compete," Dodson said of his chance at world-class competition. "There's seven of us on the team and I'm pretty sure I will race in cross country and the biathlon. It's really up to the team director, but there is a possibility I could compete in as many as four races."

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Following months of physical therapy and adapting to a new way of life, Dodson took up wheelchair racing. "It started at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio," he said. The staff made sure you were kept on an active schedule, whether it be swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair racing and more."

Dodson followed up on his athletic career at the University of Illinois -- a school well known in the country for its wheelchair sports. He studied human nutrition.

Dodson recalls the day he was introduced to the sit skis by a cross country ski coach at the university.

"I took to it pretty good and the coach invited me to a camp in Montana," Dodson said. "I guess he could see some potential."

Dodson didn't give it much of a thought, with his heart still into wheelchair racing.

"I took a shot at the Summer Games in London, but didn't make the team," he said. "That's when I refocused on skiing and gave it another shot."

He focused the whole year on sit skis and the training was quite different from his wheelchair career.

"It's whole different set of muscles," Dodson said. "You basically sit in a bucket and use your arms for propulsion.

"The coaches saw something in me after the US Nationals Jan. 2-6, at Soldier Hollow, Utah and that's when they told me I made the team."

The races Dodson could be involved in are the 1K, a shorts sprint; and the 5K and 10K races. He is also excited about competing in the biathlon.

"It's six races in seven days, so we will be extremely busy and focused as a team," Dodson said. "Most of the tame members are ex-military."

Dodson has already begun training for the Games with his teammates at Winter Park, Colo. The team will fly to Munich, Germany on March 2 where they will have a day before connecting in Sochi.

Dodson retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2009, but has never forgotten his brothers in arms. "I have had a lot of support during this whole adventure," Dodson said. "Groups like Team Semper Fi have been tremendous in their support."

Cheering him on the trip will be his mother, Cheryl Kae and his aunt, Rhonda Letz of El Paso. Travis is the son of Casey and Cheryl Kae Dodson.

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